‘On The Brink’: Nonprofit CEO Addresses ‘Urgent’ Need For US Energy Innovation At Daily Caller Live Event

CEO Jeremy Harrell of ClearPath and ClearPath Action and CEO Elijah Moorman of the Daily Caller discussed innovation in the U.S. energy sector at a Daily Caller Live event Thursday.

Harrell said the U.S. is at a very critical moment regarding energy and defined ClearPath’s approach as “innovation rather than regulation and carrots rather than sticks.” He called for incentivizing investment in the private sector. building energy sector technology as quickly as possible and streamlining regulations. Harrell added that the permitting process takes too long and noted how the Senate parliamentarian recently took key permit provisions out of the reconciliation bill. (RELATED: Experts Discuss Urgent State Of American Energy In Daily Caller Live Event)

“We’re in an urgent moment now,” Harrell told Moorman in response to a question on how to get politicians to prioritize the energy sector. “We are probably on the brink of a reliability crisis, and that really drives the need to invest in new American energy and new American manufacturing that can catalyze that type of development.”

He said polling reveals 73% of American voters are in favor incentivizing investment in varied energy sources, arguing that “a crisis” would change incentives for policy-makers.

“And in this moment, we need to use all the tools in the toolbelt to build more American energy that’s consistent with President Trump’s energy dominance plan, it’s what’s needed for economic growth, and it’s critical to American manufacturing competitiveness and, frankly, the A.I. race, which we are in a massive race with China,” Harrell said.

Harrell called for a “portfolio approach” to energy, listing a variety of potential energy sources for investment, and emphasized support for U.S. manufacturing. He noted that gas would “play a significant role” in American energy for the future.

Moorman raised conservative criticism of government tax credits for green energy projects while noting its importance for fracking, then asked Harrell to explain how subsidies can influence different energy industries. Howell said public-private partnerships have played a major role in developing energy production.

“Congress established an unconventional gas production tax credit that lasted almost 20 years that drove significant investment into new techniques to produce gas and then it got out of the way,” Harrell explained. “And then in 2005, Congress put in a categorical exclusion for the exploration for natural gas, so got the government out of the way.”

“And that combo of policies ultimately led to the gas revolution that we have today, gas playing the single largest role in a generation here in the U.S. and the U.S. as a global leader on gas,” Harrell said.

“That recipe should be something that we replicate: very targeted, time-based incentives, regulatory reforms, public-private partnerships and then let’s let the market take off,” he finished.

ClearPath is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing American innovation to help lower global energy emissions. They focus on shaping policy solutions supporting clean energy and clean manufacturing technologies. Their key areas of emphasis include nuclear energy, carbon capture, hydropower, natural gas, geothermal energy, energy storage and clean manufacturing.

A video of the full panel is available on the Daily Caller YouTube channel.